Light Upon Light Sufi Center Grand Opening,

My candle burns at both ends It will not last the night; But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends - It gives a lovely light.

Edna St. Vincent Millay

We burned our candle at both ends and in the middle getting ready for the Light Upon Light Sufi Center Grand Opening, and last night it made a lovely light indeed, a lovely light upon light. The game was worth the candle.

Over seventy people came! And stayed. Despite the heat.

We ate a middle-eastern feast and sang along with the kirtan of David Schmit and the Wild Moon Bhaktas. We danced the Dances of Universal Peace. We did the Zikr of the Jerrahi Sufi Order. We danced the First Line of the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic. We did a couple of Zikr Dances of the Ruhaniat Sufi Order.

We melted in the heat and our hearts melted in the heat of the Divine Names. When we can’t get people to go home after an event like this we call it “Sufi glue”. People just having such a good time that they don’t want it to end and they stay, talking, sharing and hanging out.

This is the largest number of people to do this in Minnesota in many years.

We thank everybody that came, our old friends and the many new, and the generous people who gave their time and energy to make the Light Upon Light Sufi Center and the Grand Opening the wonderful success they were and are.

If this speaks to you, speaks to your heart, come, come again.

This world is for the education of our human souls. To learn, to turn, shall be our delight, till by learning and turning we come round right.

We invite you, in the Presence of God, to the Presence of God.

For us, this is the thing in life most worth doing.

Peace and Blessings,

Hakim, Karima, Garek Isa, and Elizabeth Bushnell

Coming Up!

The regular Jerrahi Zikr on Wednesdays, and the regular Ruhaniat Zikr on Thursdays will resume meeting in the Light Upon Light Sufi Center.

The Ruhaniat Zikr will now meet at 7 PM on Thursday, instead of 7:30.

The Zikr will now begin with basic orientation to practice, history, and the stories of the teachers and people of the Ruhaniat Sufi Order. This will be mostly practice and stories, with very little lecture. Sufism is vast and a little information at the beginning can be of great help in navigating it.

The Dances of Universal Peace:

The first Dance of each month will be broadly inclusive, covering as many Dances from varying traditions as time allows. We do this to experience the commonality and parallels of the world’s religious traditions.

The second Dance of each month will focus in depth on a particular theme or tradition.

The focus for July will be the Aramaic Words of Jesus. We promise on the website that this will be offered but as yet nothing is scheduled. If you are interested in the Aramaic Words of Jesus, please come to this event. We will be talking about scheduling at least one regular meeting a month on the Aramaic and need your input on when will work. If you are interested, but can’t make this meeting, email me so I know to put you in the loop for future events.

From the outside it looks like we are holding hands, singing the Names of God from all around the world, and doing easy round dance forms.

From the inside we are having quick and radical shifts in awareness as an entire group. The Persian poet Rumi speaks of "the Wine of Love". Jesus speaks of "the Peace that passes understanding." The Buddha speaks of "the Emptiness", not as absence but as potentiality. These and more are available, not as poetic ideas but as direct experience. Easy and direct, all dances are taught as for beginners each time. We really work at not having an in-group and an out-group.

We believe that all religions can lead to direct experience of our Divine Source. We do not honor any particular path over another, letting effectiveness determine what is right for each person. What works is what's right. If you are interested in the adventure of the vast inner life of the Spirit then this is one of the many good ways to begin. For more info: www.dancesofuniversalpeace.org